


Pangur Bán and Me

by Wolf_of_Lilacs



Series: Aro Fics [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Aromantic, Gen, Immortality, headcanons galore, idyllic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 16:32:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15667014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolf_of_Lilacs/pseuds/Wolf_of_Lilacs
Summary: Millie's got her books and her cat and eternity, and she couldn't be happier.





	Pangur Bán and Me

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Crimson_Square](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crimson_Square/pseuds/Crimson_Square) in the [GenAndAroPrompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GenAndAroPrompts) collection. 



> Fill for a prompt on the Gen Aro prompt meme. Hope this is kind of what you had in mind...
> 
> Pangur Bán is from [this poem](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/48267/pangur-ban).
> 
> And Stuffle made a podfic! <https://soundcloud.com/starsandheavyrain/pangur-ban-and-me/s-eoLOE> Thank you so much!❤❤

 

_His whole instinct is to hunt,_  
_Mine to free the meaning pent._  
_More than loud acclaim, I love_  
_Books, silence, thought, my alcove._

(from “Pangur Bán”, Anonymous)

 

Millie has her books and her cat and eternity, and she couldn't be happier.

 

The world is quiet here in her quaint little cottage in the middle of an oak forest. Pangur Bán hunts, bringing back a mouse every so often, then flops in a contented, fluffy heap on the small table at her elbow, his rumbling purr a near constant accompaniment.

 

She imagined sharing this quietude once with Blaise, dreamed of the two of them spending their immortal, soulmate-less lives in peaceable coexistence, all avenues open to them. But then Blaise met their soulmate, lost their immortality, and didn't have the same sort of time for Millie anymore. So it goes. People meet their soulmates all the time, some because they sought them out, some by happy chance. Millie could never resign herself to the idea. Why not live forever?

 

(The Dark Lord—so well-known for his world-upending plots and plans of unending tyranny—was said to have lost his immortality when he met Harry Potter, but that is only conjecture. Neither of them have been seen in years to confirm or deny it.)

 

Millie sets aside a sheet of calculations and puts on a pot of tea. Pangur rolls onto his back, showing off his round, white belly, kicking his back paws in ecstasy as she gives in and scratches him. "Who's an adorable kitty?" she murmurs. He blinks lazily.

 

Pangur had found her here when she first moved in—fifteen years ago now, Merlin! He didn't ask for much, just a few pets and a warm place to sleep. She was perfectly willing to oblige him. In return, he keeps her company while she reads dense, convoluted, existential novels and finishes spell patent reviews—hence the calculations.

 

There is a knock at the door. Pangur's head pops up, his large ears pricked. Sighing fondly, Millie lets Granger in, who carries a stack of parchment in one arm and a large bottle of wine in the other. As soon as she's set down her load, Pangur presses his head into her hand. She rubs his cheek and croons a greeting.

 

"I've had it up to here with idiots who can't do arithmancy to save their asses," Millie says, picking up a terribly-presented spell for locating lost vault keys and thrusting it under Granger's nose. "Lazy would be an understatement."

 

Granger shudders as she reads. "Good thing I brought extra wine," she notes.

 

"My hero," Millie replies wryly.

 

The two of them have been getting together like this for ages; Millie can hardly remember when it first started. Granger hasn't got a soulmate, either, and, when Millie's being honest with herself, she can admit that this casual-yet-meaningful association is exactly what she always envisioned between herself and Blaise.

 

Pangur Bán curls up in Granger's lap as the two of them settle on opposite ends of the sofa with their full glasses. "Not bad," Millie decides after the first couple sips.

 

Granger grins in satisfaction. "My sources never fail me," she says.

 

When Granger gets up to leave after hours of progressively directionless conversation and theories of philosophical impossibility, they give their farewells with a press of the hand, a delighted smile, a promise of another get-together. And, as Granger weaves a bit unsteadily down the walk, Millie nods decisively. Yes, Granger may one day meet her soulmate, but for whatever ageless years they have together, their relationship is everything Millie could have dreamed.

 

"Mrrow," Pangur says.

 

"Fine, you devil's spawn. Let's go to bed." He curls up in the bend of her knee, and they sleep. There's an eternity ahead, after all. Best be well-rested for it.


End file.
